Eight familiar faces are preparing to swap their comfortable lifestyles for an extraordinary 7,500km journey when Celebrity Race Across the World returns to BBC One on Wednesday 28 October. With no flights, smartphones or bank cards, the contestants must travel from the rainforests of Borneo to Melbourne, Australia, on a budget of just £26 per person per day.

The fourth celebrity series features Princess and Junior Andre, Sam Ryder, Ella Eyre and Jeff Stelling, each travelling with a family member or close friend. Across six episodes, the four teams will face difficult decisions about transport, accommodation and money as they attempt to reach five checkpoints spanning three countries and two continents.

Who Is Taking Part in Celebrity Race Across the World 2026?

Princess Andre will compete alongside her brother Junior, bringing one of the series' youngest partnerships into a competition requiring considerable independence. The siblings, whose parents are Katie Price and Peter Andre, have grown up with public attention but will now face the challenge of navigating unfamiliar surroundings without their usual support networks.

Sam Ryder is travelling with his best friend and tour manager Kaz Smith, while Ella Eyre is joining forces with childhood friend Nana Pepera. Both singers are accustomed to travelling professionally, although the demands of arranging their own transport and finding accommodation on a restricted budget will provide a very different experience.

Former Soccer Saturday presenter Jeff Stelling completes the line-up with his son Matt. Their father-and-son partnership will face the same pressures as the younger competitors, with endurance, communication and the ability to compromise becoming important throughout the journey.

The relationships between the contestants are central to the format, particularly when exhaustion and financial pressure make even straightforward decisions more difficult.

The £26-a-Day Challenge

The teams begin their journey in Kuching, the capital of Sarawak in Malaysian Borneo. From there, they must cross Southeast Asia and continue towards Melbourne without relying on commercial flights or internet access.

Each contestant receives £26 per day and must use local transport, physical maps and help from people they meet along the way. That budget needs to cover the practical demands of travelling, while temporary work provides opportunities to earn additional money when funds begin running low.

The restrictions mean celebrity status offers little practical advantage. Participants must negotiate journeys, work out unfamiliar transport networks and make decisions about whether a faster route is worth the additional expense.

The lack of smartphones also removes a convenience many travellers now take for granted. Without instant directions, accommodation bookings or translation apps, the contestants will need to develop confidence in asking for help and responding to unexpected problems.

The Race Reaches Australia for the First Time

The new route introduces two significant firsts for the programme, beginning in Borneo's Sarawak rainforest before taking the competition all the way to Australia.

The journey will expose the teams to dramatically different environments, from humid jungle landscapes to major cities and long-distance journeys across unfamiliar territory.

For viewers, the geographical scale is a major attraction. However, the series' most revealing moments may come from watching established relationships change under pressure, particularly when one person wants to take a risk and their partner prefers a more cautious approach.

Celebrity Race Across the World begins on Wednesday 28 October at 8pm on BBC One and BBC iPlayer. The new series consists of six episodes.